No Name Change For 20th Century Fox

UPDATE: Forget that News Corp is renaming its new separate media and entertainment business 21st Century Fox to take it into the future. 20th Century Fox is sticking to its past. “The film studio is not changing names or logo,” a 20th Century Fox movie exec tells me today. Another tells me that the TV studios also are keeping the 20th Century Fox name. Why? Because the studios studied the situation and discovered that the name is one of the most recognizable in the world and has “real value” and “positive association” to the public, particularly overseas. (I hear that’s why the parent company is leveraging that name.) “It’s an 80-year-old brand that stands for something and means something to people,” the studio decided. Executives tell me the studio would have changed its moniker at the millennium. “But it’s long since lost the connection to the century. It’s a brand. It’s something that has lasted. The other company is brand new and begins in the 21st century.” I’m told that Rupert Murdoch and his Big Media corporation had “no issue” with 20th Century Fox retaining its name. I personally think that the film/TV studios simply didn’t want to pay to change all that perfectly good letterhead stationery. Meanwhile, Futurama keeps calling the studio ’30th Century Fox’.

26 Comments

I love the dramatic music that accompanies the logo at the opening of a movie. Iconic indeed.

CynicalCritic • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

An awesome musical cue from 20th Century Fox maestro Alfred Newman.

I only wish they would not overuse the cinemascope extension, as this was originally reserved for movies filmed in scope. I remember seeing the first non-scope movie they tried this with, “Gleaming the Cube”, and I was so saddened to discover that they would continue to use it on most, if not all, their subsequent films. There was something uniquely special about this cue that, now, seems somewhat trite.

Reggie Van Luster • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

GLEAMING THE CUBE!!! I’ve never seen it, but I will never forget that title. All I remember from the trailer is Christian Slater as a teen skateboarder fighting criminals for some reason or another. I don’t regret taking a pass on that one, though I love the that movies like GLEAMING THE CUBE and BMX BANDITS exist.

USA • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

SMART DECISION! Also saves the company millions & millions of bucks.

Rupert Murdoch • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Not true Nikki. On “Futurama” we have our 30th Century Fox logos:

huh? • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

So the company is called 21st Century Fox but the division is called 20th Century Fox…Do they realize how confusing that is? Reminds me of their recent move to add FXX to the cable lineup, right alongside the one that has one “X.”

Mark831 • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Confusing but respectful of company history. The name comes from the 1935 merger of 20th Century Pictures and William Fox’s Fox Film Corporation. There used to be a hyphen in it: 20th Century-Fox. Glad to see the name stays, sentimentalist that I am.

markLouis • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Maybe it’s a generational thing. Nobody now would ever confuse, say, JLo with JLaw. It will be a little harder with 2Fox and 2Fox but it was never really too hard to tell apart Julie Brown and Julie Brown.

baylink • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Well, it’s probably that the studios have young enough management to remember ’21st Century Fox’ is a 2000s porn film title…

Cahuenga1712 • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

I’m pleased to know there’s at least one studio exec who understands that newer isn’t always better, re: “It’s an 80-year-old brand that stands for something and means something to people.”

Corny? Maybe a little. But it’s absolutely true.

Sheldon W • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Smart decision. 20th Century Fox is iconic and just plain sounds cooler than 21st Century Fox – which never hurts in the filmmaking biz…

jimmyb • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

I BELIEVE THE TRUTH MAY BE……
THAT 20TH GOT A CERTIFIED LETTER FROM THE CURRENT 23RD CENTURY PICTURES…. WHICH HAS MADE AND DISTRIBUTED WELL OVER 50 FILMS OVER THE YEARS.
YORAM GLOBUS AND MENAHEM GOLAN WORKED QUITE HARD AND PROLIFICALLY, FOR MANY YEARS TO BUILD THEIR COMPANY.

perfect • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

fits the M.O of a studio hopelessly stuck in the past.

Sarge • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

‘Scuse me, but didn’t Menahem Golan grab the 21st Century name about 20 years ago? He used it when he split with Cannon…

Joe • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Joe Schenck, who founded TWENTIETH CENTURY FILM CO, will be happy to know this. He started it all. Bought FOX Studios for the land! He was the brains behind it all.

Jamie • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

I like mention of Futurama still calling the film company 30th Century.

About time the movie company made some good decision keeping the name.
Its as popular as Coca Cola . Dont change a winning formula .

Jed • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Why change something that actually works well? Just keep it as it is and go with it…21st Century Fox just sounded stupid and besides that, it’s an iconic and historical name that has notoriety and is recognizable within the general public.

Wondering whose bright idea it was to even consider such an act?

don • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

It’s a memorable logo and I’m glad they’re not changing it. Newman’s original CinemaScope extension music sounds a lot better than subsequent orchestrations.

21st Century Marketing 101 • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

I’m almost tempted to bet that News Corp. probably spent $30 million to do months (maybe years?) of FOCUS GROUP TESTING and other marketing research to come up with the briefly adopted 21st Century Fox banner, then suddenly did an about-face when the Q Scores and brand recognition and recall data came back negative! ;-D

Joe • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Aren’t they renaming another cable channel FXX?

Reggie Van Luster • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

Yeah, just wanted to add one more voice to the chorus: THIS IS DUMB. They should align everything as the classic, evergreen brand that is 20th Century Fox. The schizophrenic dual branding isn’t helping anyone.

max • on Apr 16, 2013 3:26 pm

It’s like renaming Coca-Cola or any other established company name. 20th Century Fox has a long and rich history. They should be proud of it instead of bringing in the “re-branding” goons.